I've spent quite some time in Thailand over the years training and fighting. My first time was in Chiang Mai back 1998 and my longest was 6mnths early 2000 and tried to return at least once a year during my fight career. Most camps are very basic, sometimes housing many boys in one room, with 2 and sometimes 3 to a bed. At the camp in Bangkok I was training out of towards the end of my fight career, some of boys had made the space underneath the ring their sleeping quarters!
Some would argue that this basic way of living is what makes Muay Thai fighters in Thailand some of the best and toughest fighters in the world. Thinking about my experiences starting off at a couple of camps, this is universal across most camps, some more extreme than others - Usually on your first day/week (in some cases longer), you are on the outside as the camp managers, trainers, resident fighters and the others that have come before you size you up. They watch you during their rounds, during their breaks. They watch you when you're out running, on your pads/bag rounds, sparring and clinching. They watch how you interact and treat others. The trainers are always watching you. They gauge the type person you are and the type of fighter you could become. They don't care if you have big muscles, they don't care if you can sprint 100m under 10s. They will watch how you interact and treat others. They watch you. All they care about is... your "heart".
They want to see what you're made of, do you rise to challenges or do you give up when it gets hard. In the weeks to follow I'm kicked, pushed, thrown, dumped, swept to the canvas a thousand times over all the while I'm getting mocked (so many times they are laughing at me) ...but I get back up and I go, again and again. Then one day, my trainer pats me on the back and says "Good job". I've earnt it. Day after day I'm challenged and on each occasion my resilience is tested, I get back up and I keep going.
At some point, my first fight is booked and my name goes up on the fight board. Now the real training begins...
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